When You Least Expect
by Itban Fuyu
Summary: Hiccup moved to a new school for a fresh start where no one would know about his leg or the car accident. Lucky for him, he was paired up for a group activity with the cute blond girl he's had a crush one since he arrived at the school. He wasn't really looking for friends, but sometimes, what you need comes when you least expect. {Now a series of one-shots in the same universe}
1. When You Least Expect

**Summary: Hiccup moved to a new school for a fresh start where no one would know about his leg or the car accident. Lucky for him, he was paired up for a group activity with the cute blond girl he's had a crush one since he arrived at the school. He wasn't really looking for friends, but sometimes, what you need comes when you least expect. **

**They're around 15 in this fic.**

**Important NOTE: I might turn it into a series of one-shots. **

* * *

_When You Least Expect_

Hiccup couldn't believe his luck. He was awestruck to see his name paired up with the girl he couldn't stop looking at since he arrived at the new school, a month ago. At the end of the class, Astrid Hofferson herself came to his table.

"Hey, you're Hiccup Haddock, right?" He quickly nodded in response, not trusting his voice at the moment. "So, I guess we have to do this project together… I think the sooner the better, we have only a week, after all."

He cleared his throat, trying to hide how eager he was. "Yes. Maybe we could start today?" Grabbing his things on the table and put his backpack on and followed her out the classroom, trying to keep her pace.

"Sure. Just not in the library. The seniors are going to have a big test tomorrow and I know a lot of people will be studying there, so the library will be full… Could we go to your house?"

"M-mine?" He gulped.

"Yeah. Mine is far away, I wouldn't want it to be a problem for you…" Her eyes automatically went down at his limping, but she soon raised them and changed the subject before he had the chance to open his mouth to complain. "Besides, my brothers will be there and they are a pain… Well, at least one will be, Astren will probably be one of the people studying at the library… But Aaron, my younger brother, he won't let us do our project. So, is that okay?"

"I don't know, my house is a mess…"

"I've got two brothers. I'm used to messy environments; don't worry about that… Unless you don't want me to come over."

"No, it's okay." He gulped again, it'd be alright as long as she didn't go to his room and didn't see his crutches or wheelchair. He was already sick with people looking at him with that pity look just because he limped, he didn't want anyone to know he missed half a leg below his left knee. That was why he changed schools, everyone knew about the accident in his old one.

"Good. So, see you after school. I gotta go to Math now."

"And I've got Arts… So, see ya." He smiled and turned the corner to his next class.

* * *

Hiccup opened the door and turned to Astrid as he entered. "Well, I've warned you…"

The blonde followed him close behind and as he locked the door again, a dog came running and barking in excitement and confusion at the girl. Hiccup laughed and leaned to pet the black Labrador, whispering to him that it was all right until he calmed down.

"He's so cute! What's his name?"

"Astrid, meet Toothless." Hiccup couldn't help but laugh at her puzzled expression. He answered her question before she could even say it. "When he was a puppy, he used to bite so softly that it was like he didn't have any teeth, so the name stuck… Besides, I was only eleven, then."

"Well, you're… creative."

"I know it's awful. But I love this big boy anyway." He shrugged and gestured to the living room. "Shall we?"

Astrid made her way into the living room. The table in the dining room still had boxes and personal belongings all over it.

"You did warn me… You just moved into this house, right?"

"It's recent. Dad and I didn't have a lot of time to settle in, yet. Sorry about it."

"I don't mind it as long as we can do this activity."

"Good, so, make yourself confortable, I'm gonna get my laptop and we can start it, okay?" He asked and she nodded. "My room is a lost cause, really. I wouldn't want anyone but Toothless in there until I put everything in place…"

She smiled and nodded. "Okay, then."

Hiccup hurried away as fast as he could to his tidy room, leaving his backpack on the chair, he grabbed his laptop and Biology book. He took half a second to feel bad for lying so much to the girl he had a crush on, but quickly dismissed the feeling as he exited the room, closing the door shut.

Astrid had left her backpack and books on the sofa and was now by the bookshelf, looking at the portraits his father insisted on keeping there.

"Hey, is this your mom? You look like her."

His small smile vanished. "Yes…"

"She's really pretty… Where is she? At work?"

"No…" He sighed. "She's away… She left us."

Hiccup sat on the sofa and turned on his laptop. Astrid noticed something wrong, but she didn't get the tone behind his words, she didn't know him after all and she was distracted, wanting to get to know the new boy at school.

"When was it?"

"Some months ago." He answered, leaving the laptop on the coffee table in front of him and opening the Biology book on the page about viruses.

"That's why you two moved out? Because of the divorce?"

He raised an eyebrow. "What? Oh, no… Not that kind of leave us… She… It was a car accident…"

Astrid's jaw dropped and she was red with embarrassment.

"Oh! I'm sorry… I didn't know it… I…" She left the bookshelf and grabbed her own Biology book. "So, Viruses, right? We need to detail their structure, reproduction and cycles, so we better get it started."

* * *

"I guess we're done!" Astrid closed her book, looking at the word document.

"Yes. I'll just proofread everything later and check the formatting before I print it and take it tomorrow."

"We'll probably be the first ones to hand it to him. I guess I got the right coworker out of that class, after all." She smiled and stretched her arms; happy this activity was done.

"Thanks."

"And we only finished it so soon because you're smart, really, you're good at it."

"Not that much. It's just because Biology is easy. Math, on the other hand, not so much… This school is a bit advanced on the subject, so I'm having a hard time with it… And Physics."

"Why didn't you say so before? I could help you with Math and my friend Fishlegs will be happy to help you with Physics."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it won't be a problem… To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive when I saw your name on the board next mine, I thought you were very anti-social and I didn't even know you could talk, but you're not like that at all." She laughed. "But I guess appearances can be deceiving. A nice guy can be hidden beneath this stern vibes of someone who's disappointed in people."

"Yeah…" He laughed nervously. She was right indeed. He had been disappointed at his so-called friends hat vanished after the accident. "I think it's just easier to be on my own. People sometimes are… complicated."

"Especially teenagers. But that only means you have to look harder to find nice people." She shrugged. "By the way, do you have something to eat?"

"Sure." He closed his laptop and put it on the table while she stood up in an instant. He took a little longer to leave the sofa, being careful not to put his weight on his left leg. "Would you like some chips? Dad likes it so much we have piles of different kinds of chips."

"Yes, I'd like some. Thanks." Then she followed him to the kitchen. She stayed for another half an hour until she had to go back home.

* * *

Hiccup balanced the tray of food in one hand as he grabbed his ringing cellphone from his pocket. He looked at the screen, but he already knew who it'd be before he answered the call with a smile.

"Hey, Gobber."

"How's my favorite godson doing today?"

"I'm fine. Let me guess, you're calling because dad told you there was a guest home yesterday?"

"Of course! How could you hide it from me, Hiccup!" Gobber nearly yelled in excitement, making the boy laugh even more.

"I wasn't hiding, I was going to tell you later today. But it's really not that big of a deal." Hiccup walked forward very slowly, looking around and searching for an empty table or at least with only a few people so he could sit and eat while listening to music.

"Sure it is! You're getting friends! I told you it'd happen!"

"She's not a friend. We were doing a project for Biology."

"It was a _girl_? He didn't tell me _that_!"

"It doesn't matter, it was the teacher who paired us. I'm pretty sure I'd be the last person she'd want to be paired with. She told me herself I looked like a freak… Well, she didn't use these words, but I get the gist…"

"Oh, Hiccup! That's because you walk around as if you want to be invisible. It can't be that hard to go and introduce yourself to people, you know… I thought you wanted a fresh start at the new school."

"I'm getting it, no one knows about my leg, so no one pities me or looks at me in a weird way. It's a relief, you know." At least not as much as it used to be in the old school.

"What am I going to do with you?"

"It's just… You don't know what I'm going through…"

Gobber sighed, shifting on his chair. His tone came more serious. "Hiccup, I've been there. _Twice_, remember? I know exactly what you're going through."

"What I mean is that you weren't a teenager when you lost your foot and hand… and…" He trailed off as he saw a beautiful blond girl stand up and wave at his direction. Was that Astrid? He stopped walking to look behind him, but there was no one waving back at her. "Hum…"

"What's going on, boy?"

"I think Astrid is waving at me?"

"The girl from yesterday?"

"How'd you know?"

"Do you know anyone else?" Hiccup could imagine his godfather rolling his eyes.

"Fair point… Well, I'll go talk to her."

"See? I told you. Friends!"

"She probably just wants to know if I brought the project to hand the Biology teacher after lunch… Talk to you later?"

"Sure! I'll come over to your house so you can tell me about your new friends. Bye!" He hung up between laughs.

Hiccup put his phone back into his pocket and walked as fast as he could to the table she was sitting on with four other people.

"Hi?" He asked, still uncertain she was waving at him, but if it were someone else, surely he or she would have passed him by now. "I brought the activity, would you like to take a look at it before the class?"

Astrid shrugged. "I guess so, but we can do it later. Would you like to sit with us for lunch? I saw you were looking for a place to sit." She gestured at the people sitting with her. "These are my friends, Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut. And as you said before, you needed some help with Physics, right? Fishlegs is the guy to help you."

"I wouldn't want to disturb you guys."

"Just sit already!" The black-haired boy said, annoyed.

"Don't mind him, please. Snotlout doesn't know what politeness means…" Fishlegs said, ignoring Snotlout imitating him sarcastically. "But I'll be happy to help you. Do you have time after classes?"

Reluctantly, Hiccup sat down.

"Hey, you're new, right?" The twin boy asked. "So where did you study?"

"What was it like?" The twin girl went along.

"Just… normal, I guess." He answered and his phone vibrated. He grabbed it and looked at the screen, there was a text from Gobber.

_I know I'm right! You'll see._

He smiled and put it back in his pocket. Looking at the people at the table he secretly hoped his godfather was right this time.

* * *

**Just a curiosity, I put him getting Toothless at 11 because that was his age when he got Toothless in the books, I thought it'd be a nice detail. **

**I don't know if the characters were a bit OOC, but since their backgrounds are completely different, I made them as closest to the characters, yet fitting their current situations. **

**Btw, I had no idea to put for them as a project to do, so I asked my sister (still in high school) what she was studying and then added it into the story. **


	2. The Intentions Behind the Actions

**WARNING: It's now a series of cute one-shots, meant to be heart warming and maybe inspiring in seeing the good in people and finding true friends. **

**Important NOTE: It won't have an overall plot (that's why it's a series of one-shots), but they mostly revolve around Hiccup's arc in getting over his past (jerky) "friends" and getting used to his new life with his true friends; so they're all interconnected in the same universe.**

**And btw, the cover was a sketch I drew and I've got other drawings on my insta (author . marilia) and deviantArt, you can find them on my profile, if you're interested.**

**Answering your reviews: **

**CB73: Thanks again for reading and reviewing another one of my stories! And I'm glad you liked the beginning, I hope you'll like this one, too! **

**TMYSchol: Yes! Read the notes above for more info if you haven't already! :D **

**Luna Nightstrider: Thanks you! I hope you'll like this chap, too! :D **

**NathallyQS: Thank ****you! I think so too and I hope you'll find it the rest as interesting as the beginning was!**

**CrystalStarfire: Nice ideas, I might have some inspiration with it, but I can't promise ****anything... **

**Enjoy the new one-shot! :D **

* * *

_The Intentions Behind the Actions_

Hiccup wheeled as fast as he could to the door when the bell rang. He knew who that was, so he opened the door without even looking through the peephole. It could only be Gobber at a time like this; besides, his father had the key. He was right indeed; his godfather entered greeting him; the man was holding paper bags.

"Is this dinner?"

"Yep." He closed the door behind him.

"Let me guess, dad asked you to come…"

"Yeah, he had problems at the builder again, so he's staying there late, but he didn't want you to have dinner alone again."

Stoick had inherited he family's builder company, it was a big company and with so many project, it was common for the workaholic man to stay late at work. He had studied a lot and he has been working hard on the company since he was very young, their old house was actually one of Stoick's first projects, but they moved out since there were too many steps (two stories, stairs at the entrance and even the living room was one step down) to be comfortable to move on a wheelchair.

"Yeah… I think it's kinda good that he's working so much. He likes his job and it's good to take his mind off of… you know…"

"I know, lad… He's finally starting to work the same way again." Gobber remembered how Stoick couldn't bring himself to work at all the first weeks after the accident that took Valka and nearly took his son as well. "But, let's talk about nice things. I brought sandwiches. Your favorite."

Gobber put the paper bags on the kitchen table, getting the hamburgers and French fries from them. Hiccup wheeled to sit at the table.

"And how are you?" Gobber looked at Hiccup's legs. The boy knew what he meant; he wanted to know if there was anything wrong with his stump or prosthesis.

"I'm fine. I just needed to be off the prosthesis for a while after spending the entire day on it… Besides, I was studying, so I'd be sitting for a long period anyway, and it'd be a good idea to let it breathe…"

"Good… So… How are your friends?" Gobber asked, stuffing some French fries in his mouth.

"I told you they're not my friends… well, not yet… I barely know them…"

"They can be if you give them a chance."

Hiccup chewed his hamburger bite before he could speak. "I just… I wanted a friendship like you and dad have, you know…"

"Hiccup… you're only 15. You're _not_ gonna get a friendship like that because it took us d_ecades_ to get to this point. We know each other way before you were even born, even before your parents started to date. But one way to know if you found good friends is going through problems, they'll be there for you no matter what and you'll only know when it happens. I didn't know Stoick was actually a real friend — and actually never thought of it — until I needed. One thing is for sure, you'll only find them if you look for them."

"I know…"

"So if you want to have that some day, you better start looking for these friends now. And they can be these weird named people you met."

"Weird named? Almost everyone in this city has weird names, that include us."

"Yeah, yeah…" The man waived his hand dismissively. "You get the point. And it's been what? 2 weeks?"

"Yeah… And they're actually pretty nice. They've been helping me get settled in school, they talk to me and all… I just think it's early to call them friends…" Hiccup trailed off and Gobber just gazed at him with a raised eyebrow. "What? It's true! And… and I just…" He sighed. He hated to admit it, but he felt a bad for hiding a secret from his almost friends. "I just don't really like how people act when they find out about my leg, they either go crazy and make a big deal out of it or they just vanish… or they think I'm a freak."

"Of course they do that, Hiccup. People are stupid and they do stupid things. Not everyone knows how to act or talk to someone like us until they're used to it. You are getting used to it yourself, you can't expect people to know how to interact with you, yet. Heck, I've heard so many stupid things it made me loose hope in humanity… I mean, when it comes from kids it's actually fun and I can joke with them, but from adults…" He grunted and his voice became high pitched to mock these people. "Is it going to grow back? Do you sleep with your prosthesis?" then he his voice was sarcastic. "No... I sleep with them on like you do with your shoes…"

"Yeah… But that's the thing… if I tell them what to do, they'll just go away like my old 'friends'…"

"Not everyone is like that. But why do you say that? Did they give you a sign? "

"Well… Yeah… More or less… The other day, I found out Astrid's house is kinda close to dad's work."

"Yes, and you went there once to study Math, right? And then Stoick picked you up…" Gobber said and then he gave the boy a sly smile. "I almost forgot that, what happened, then?"

"Nothing that you wanted to; she doesn't like me that way…" He said and then began to tell the story.

_We arrived at her house and as we entered, she told me her parents were working and only her younger brother, Aaron was home. And there the twelve-year-old boy was, sitting at the sofa and playing a videogame. Astrid talked to him and he replied back, but hardly minded us until he saw me walking. _

_I could feel his stared following me to the dining table, where we sat down and we studied Math for a long time. I was focused on the task and I improved a lot, which was good, but then I had to go to the bathroom… _

_I excused myself and then I stood up… The moment I tried to move, I fell straight to the floor. Turned out, Aaron found his way under the table and knotted my shoelaces together and somehow, he didn't even notice my prosthesis, thankfully! But for a moment, I thought she was on to it… I thought Astrid did that for some laughs at the expense of the weirdo… _

_However, when I looked at her, her eyes were so wide I thought they'd fall off… She quickly stood up and yelled at her brother. Next, she apologized about a hundred times and tried to help me tie my shoes back, though I denied, and then helped me up. Astrid tried to help me so much that I was waiting for her to volunteer to help me at the bathroom… She doesn't know about my leg, yet, but she knows there's something wrong with me and she's already acting as if I'm an invalid… _

_Then, I left to the bathroom. I could listen to her yelling at her brother. _

"_What were you _thinking_?" She asked. _

"_It was just a prank…" Aaron answered. _

"_What is your problem? I told you not to do these things with my friends! Mom and dad also don't like it! But you really crossed a line here!"_

"_Why? Just because he limps? Why does he do that, by the way? What's his problem?" _

"_You noticed he's got a limp and you did that anyway?" Her voice came fierce, even angrier than before. _

"_Yeah, so what?" _

_I'm not sure what happens next because I was away, but I'm pretty sure she slapped him, especially because I saw him holding his cheek later on. Astrid's voice became a bit lower, but I could still hear, since the bathroom wasn't very far. _

"_You shouldn't have done this! I don't know why he limps but it's obviously because he needs to, he's not faking. And we don't know that by doing that, you aggravated his 'problem'. And I don't need to know what happened to him, that's his business. Now you better go to your room."_

"_I'm telling mom about it!" _

"_Good. Do it. I'll tell her what _you_ did."_

_Then he stormed out as I left the bathroom. And then she acted all careful as if I'd break at any time… _

Hiccup finished the story with a sigh.

Gobber stared at him, flabbergasted.

"She stood up for you and apparently slapped her brother because of you… and you _complain_ about it?" He nearly yelled at his godson.

"Not about that, but I don't like it when people act so over careful…"

Gobber face-palmed.

"Hiccup… Of course she was over reacting! She was feeling bad for what her brother's done and she was trying to make up for it!"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"You really need to talk more with people. How do you not see the reasons behind her actions? She only did that because she was concerned for you!"

"I know it, but…"

"No, you don't. Hiccup, she was only over reacting because she felt bad for what her brother did and was trying to redeem herself for not preventing it, especially because she knows something is wrong with you. And it is, you better get used to it, because people are gonna say it a lot." Gobber told him. Hiccup looked down. "And she proved to be a good person, teaching her pest brother how to behave. She seems like the kind of person who'd be able to learn how to properly behave around people like you and I."

"Yeah…" He barely whispered.

"Now, what do you think of watching something on Netflix?" Gobber asked, but he was already throwing away the trash on the table and he headed to the living room. Hiccup wheeled after him.

* * *

**Just out of curiosity, the stupid things Gobber said he's heard from people I got from a video of an amputee and she said she had actually heard it before...**

**FYI: I don't know any amputee, so the things I've been writing about Hiccup's struggles and life in here are based on my research about people that has been through it. **

**Please tell me what do you think of this fic! Should I continue with this series of one-shots? **


	3. That's What Friends Are For

**Summary (of the chap): Hiccup's having a bad day, no, a terrible day, but luckily, he's got a good friend to help him out.**

**Thank you for everyone who are still reading and reviewing! Your comments are so important to me! :D **

**CB73: Thanks for reviewing! I really like Gobber and Hiccup's relationship in the show (and in this fic), he's like a second dad for Hiccup in many ways and in this fic, he's kinda like a guide as well, since he's been through similar situations... **

**Luna Nightstrider: Your comment was so full of energy it made me smile! Thank you! **

* * *

_That's What Friends Are For_

Fishlegs looked to the side when Hiccup put his tray of food away, only half of it was touched. "You're not gonna eat the rest?"

"I guess not." The skinny boy mumbled, supporting his head on his hands.

"May I…?" Fishlegs pointed at the tray; he was still hungry.

"Suit yourself." Hiccup waved as he grabbed his backpack, searching for something inside. He had actually already looked for it and he knew it was at home, but he insisted anyway, just because he could be mistaken. Meanwhile, Fishlegs stole the rest of the French fries on Hiccup's plate.

"Hiccup, are you okay?" Astrid put a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah… Does anyone have any painkillers?"

"No, sorry…" Astrid said as the twins shook their heads on the other side of the table.

"I think Snotlout could have some, he often gets injured on his practices or games…" Fishlegs thought out loud.

"Where is he, by the way?" Hiccup closed his backpack again.

"He's with the basketball team. They'll have a game on Saturday." Astrid shrugged. "What's wrong, Hiccup? Would you want me to take you to the infirmary?"

"It's just… just a headache… Can the nurse give us pain killers?"

"Technically, she doesn't have strong medications. They prohibited it after someone got sick after getting a medicine…"

"Yeah, but people say it was because the student was only faking he was sick to skip classes." Ruffnut said, gesturing with the fork for emphasis.

Tuffnut agreed and grabbed his juice, saying before he drank from it. "So it was his own fault if you think about it…"

"Great…" Hiccup mumbled in a sarcastic tone.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you there anyway? You can at least rest until classes are done or until the headache goes away…"

"No… I'll just ignore it and go to class…" He sighed and slowly stood up. "See you guys later…"

Astrid and Fishlegs observed him walking to the cafeteria exit. He was limping more than usual, but both friends didn't know what else they could do, Hiccup was very private, he didn't share much and they were giving him his time to get used to them.

They continued their classes normally after lunch. And Fishlegs was so concerned about the literature test on the last period he forgot about what happened at the cafeteria as he desperately reread his notes for the test. He was walking through the corridors, heading to his locker to get his Biology textbook for his next class. He looked at his watch and hurried before he was late.

A loud thump of something falling caught the chubby boy's attention and he saw Hiccup on the ground, collecting his things that have been scattered on the ground when he fell. Most people passed by barely carrying enough to deviate from the fallen boy. Fishlegs didn't think twice and turned to his direction, he knelt on the ground to help him get his books and papers.

"Thanks…"

"No problem." Fishlegs got everything and then stood up. He still had his mind in his notes, so he didn't think of helping Hiccup up until he saw how slowly he was moving. Only then, he extended his hand. "Hum… you okay?"

"Yeah… Just got a backache to add to my luck…"

"Indeed, we carry so much weight it should be illegal." Fishlegs laughed at his own joke. However, as he looked at his friend's face, his smile vanished. "You don't look so good…"

"Thank you for summing that up…"

"Come. I'll take you to the infirmary."

"No, I think I'll call dad and ask him to pick me up earlier…"

"Okay, you can wait him there or else you might get into problems waiting on the corridors."

He sighed in defeat. "Okay, then…"

Fishlegs volunteered to help Hiccup with his things and guided the limping boy there. The bell rang in the middle of the way, but Fishlegs paid no mind to it. When they arrived at the infirmary, the nurse wasn't there.

"You can lay down here and I'll go look for her, okay? I've seen her sometimes in the teacher's room, so maybe she's there." Fishlegs left Hiccup's books and backpack on a chair and also left his own heavy backpack so he could help Hiccup get to the bed.

"Okay… I'll call my dad…" He mumbled, clearly feeling awful and pressed the phone to his ear while Fishlegs walked away.

Down the corridors, he had the idea to ask Snotlout for his painkillers, since Hiccup seemed to be in pain for a long while now. His hand went to his pocket, but his phone wasn't there, he had forgotten it in his backpack. Since he was still near, he turned back with quick steps.

At the doorway, he heard an unfamiliar voice; the sound was different, as if it came from speakers.

"Hiccup? What's my favorite godson doing calling me at a time like this? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"I was…" Hiccup's voice came in a moan. That was when Fishlegs realized Hiccup has been forcing himself to seem normal until that moment and now he was crumbling.

"Okay, what's going on?"

Fishlegs slowly got near, not sure if he should interfere, but too curious to back away now. Hiccup was lying on the bed, bent in an awkward position holding his left leg, the phone had its speakers on and it was somewhere on the bed near Hiccup, but Fishlegs couldn't see it. Hiccup couldn't see him since he was facing the wall.

"I'm an idiot…" He mumbled and moved, lying with his belly up and covering his eyes with his hands.

"You're not an idiot, Hiccup. You're just getting used to it. It's a lot to take in, I know. So what happened, exactly?"

"I had phantom pains at night, I barely slept so I took the kit from my backpack to take some painkillers at night… I mean; I didn't want to go all the way to the kitchen. But then, I forgot my kit on the table, which meant that my extra sockets were there, too. So now, during the day, my stump shrank and it's kinda loose so that, added to the phantom pains coming again during lunchtime, made me walk in a weird position, so now my back hurts, too…"

"And let me guess, because your leg is not fitting properly, it's hurting you."

"Yeah... I think I'm gonna get a rash or a blister again. I don't know, I don't want to take it off and put back on again, I'm afraid it'll hurt more… Oh, and because it's not fitting properly, I already fell twice just after lunch…" He sighed. "Dad's gonna freak out if he knew about it…"

"Speaking of him…"

"I tried calling him, but I think he's in a meeting…" Hiccup said. "Could you…"

"Okay, I'm coming to get you. Just send Stoick a text so he knows where you'll be. I'm on my way. I can get there in about 20 minutes."

"Thanks…"

Fishlegs was sure he was not supposed to hear this conversation, so when it was done, he walked away before Hiccup had ended the call. He was feeling awful for listening to such a private conversation, but his curious side didn't let him move!

He grunted at himself as he walked through the corridors. "I shouldn't have heard that… I shouldn't have been there…" He breathed heavily, trying to calm himself. "No, Fishlegs. You didn't listen to anything; you don't know anything. That's it! You'll act as if nothing's happened and when he's ready, when he wants to, he'll tell us about it. Yes. You can do it!"

By then, he arrived at the teacher's room, but the nurse wasn't there. So he had an idea, maybe the nurse was already coming back to the infirmary, but he'd quickly go to the gym see if he could find Snotlout.

"Hey, Snotlout!" He called. The basketball player looked at him, grabbing his backpack at the end of the training.

"What do you want, Fish-face?" The chubby boy rolled at the nickname, he was used to it, but he didn't like it anyway.

"Do you have any painkillers?"

"Why?"

"Why do you take them for?"

"Yeah, what I mean is why do you need them? Did you bang your head on your books?"

"Very funny. But no. Hiccup's got a bad headache."

Snotlout opened his backpack. "Let me see… I think I have some in here… Got it!" He produced a small box from it, Fishlegs reached out to grab it, but Snotlout moved it away, there was a smirk on his face. "Just tell everyone that _I_ was the one who saved the day!"

"Yeah, yeah… Deal. Just give it to me already." He grabbed the box. "Geez, how does your ego fit in that head of yours?" So he ran away, back to the infirmary.

"So your godfather is picking you up?" The nurse asked. She had arrived a few minutes earlier and he had explained everything.

"Yes."

"Very well then. You'll need the principal's permission to leave earlier, so I'll go ask for it. "Will you be fine on your own for a few minutes?"

"Yes." He repeated.

When the nurse returned saying she didn't see anyone on the way back, he was sure Fishlegs had forgotten about it and went back to class, which wasn't a problem, he knew his friend needed to get back to class. Therefore, it was a surprise to him when he heard a voice coming from the entrance.

"He won't be alone. I can stay here." Fishlegs turned to the nurse. "I went looking for you, but I didn't find you."

"You should be in class."

"I know, but it's already started anyway, and I'd like to help my friend, if that's okay."

The nurse sighed. "Well, alright. I'll allow it this time and then I'll take you to your next class so you won't have a problem with your teacher. Now, I'll be back in a minute." So she quickly walked out of the room.

Fishlegs then came forward with a box of medicine in his hand. "Do you think these will help?"

"Yeah, these ones are really good… How did you get it?"

"Snotlout… And believe me, he's gonna boast about it for at least a week."

Hiccup chuckled at it, imagining the scene. He took the medicine asking Fishlegs to grab the bottle of water from his backpack.

The nurse came back a few minutes later with the principal's permission to leave the school. Not long after that, Hiccup received a message from Gobber; he was waiting for his godson by the entrance.

The nurse went with Hiccup all the way to the entrance, helping him walk there and Fishlegs took his belongings to the car. Hiccup sat on the passenger's side and thanked his friends as he got his backpack and books from him. He closed the door and opened the window.

"No problem. And text me later, will you? I'll want to know if your headache got better… And if you want to, I can get your homework from the other classes and send you through email."

"Thanks. I'd like that. But won't it be a problem for you?"

Fishlegs laughed it off. "Well, that's what friends are for, right? When I get sick, I'll be waiting for your email with my homework."

"Consider it done." He said and waved good-bye. As the car started to drive away, Fishlegs could hear the driver say something like "Told you I was right."

* * *

**So, I really wanted Fishlegs to be the first to know because I think he's the kind of Person that would really respect his space like that and I thoguht Astrid would be too obvious... Besides, I'm planning something different for when Astrid finds out. **

**So, did you like it? Please tell me in the comments below! **


	4. It's Time for the Nuts

**There's official HTTYD News! **

**At Annecy, Dean Deblois confirmed that we're gonna have a short at the end of the yea (possibly a Snoggletog one, since it'll probably be around Christmas). Zephyr and Nuffink's age were also confirmed to be 8 and 5, respectively. And Hiccup and Astrid were supposed to dance at the wedding scene, however, there wasn't time left, so they had to cut it, which only made me wanna ask why haven't they included that in a post-credit scene or at the credits… I would totally try to make that work if I was working there, lol. Or maybe they could have divided this movie in two, I'd also love that, hehehe**

* * *

**Summary of the chap: Hiccup, Gobber, Stoick and Toothless spend a warm Sunday in the park and then a pair of Twins appears to possibly ruing Hiccup's day…**

**Now, answering your reviews: **

**Guest: Indeed, Fishlegs is great and I really like his character! **

**Guest: Thanks! And here's more! **

**CB73: Yes, they're finding friendship one at a time! And of course it needs to be varied, I wouldn't be happy if it weren't different, hehehe. And of course, it wouldn't be as interesting, especially because I love how different those characters are! And thanks for reviewing! :D **

**Luna Nightrider: Thanks so much for your enthusiastic reviews, they always make me happy! And sure, don't worry, I'm enjoying writing it, just as much as I hope you'll all enjoy reading it! **

**Guest: He is! :D **

**Seireidoragon: Thanks you so much and here is more! **

**I was gonna post it sooner, but I was carried away with my other fic, Shadow and Silver, and forgot to post more, sorry! But anyway, here's another chap that was quite fun to write, I hope you'll all enjoy! :D **

* * *

_It's Time For The Nuts_

"Come on, Hiccup. It'll be fun. I promise you won't feel dislocated, there'll be a lot of people like us there!" Gobber said, patting his godson on the back. Hiccup sighed. "Maybe we can even rent a bike and you can ride it. You loved it, didn't you?"

"Gobber, I can barely walk, I'm not ready for riding bikes, yet… And I don't know…"

"Okay, so maybe you don't go bike riding, but you can get some tips, then. A friend of mine rides every weekend and he does lots and lots of different sports."

"See? You still have a chance to be an athlete!" Stoick boomed proudly.

"I don't want to be an athlete, dad… I just liked to ride bikes once in a while."

"Just come, Hiccup. It'll be good for Toothless to go for a walk, too." Gobber insisted and the dog barked in agreement, already agitated at the possibility to go for a walk. Indeed, since the accident, he barely took the black Labrador for a walk and his father didn't have time to do it as often as Hiccup did before, though Toothless had space to play in the yard.

"Okay…. I'll go…" Hiccup went back to his room to put on some shorts; it'd be the first time he'd wear them since the accident to go to a public place.

* * *

Hiccup had to agree he's had a great time with the people Gobber had introduced him to. Some he had already seen before, but most were new, including the man that liked to ride bikes. He didn't have the right foot, but he 's given Hiccup some nice tips to improve his balance and then to ride a bike in a near future.

The boy was hopeful to get his life back to normal, or as normal as it could be with all the loses the accident cost him.

Then, the people had to leave, but since Stoick wanted to go for a run around the park —and he hadn't done that in a while—, Hiccup and Gobber walked with Toothless.

"I told you it'd be nice."

"It was. I liked that bike guy… What was his name again? Sven?"

"Yes, Sven. He's a nice dude. Fought in the Army, too. He's really fine now, but he actually went through a period of depression when he became an amputee… That was also because his jerky girlfriend dumped him, then…"

"Really? How awful…"

"Yeah, but he got better and now he's a total different man, after that he got married. His wife couldn't come today, but next time she'll be here. You'll like her too. Great lass, she was the right girl for him."

"That's nice." Hiccup grabbed Toothless's tennis ball and threw so the dog could go after it.

He admired how happy the Labrador was following the ball and then coming back so he could throw it again. That was when he saw a few kids pointing and laughing at him —and Gobber. He looked away, wondering if he should have worn pants.

"I know it's only been a few months. But get used to it, Hiccup. It's part of you now."

Hiccup chuckled looking at his godfather. "You mean it's not part of me anymore." He gestured his prosthesis.

"Very funny, lad…" He rolled his eyes. You know exactly what I mean." He looked at a small stand with a line of people. "I think they've got ice-cream. I'm gonna get one, it's quite hot today, don't you think? Would you like one, too?"

"No, thanks… I'll just play with Toothless for a little while…" Hiccup waved at him and threw the ball again, walking to a tree and sitting down under it. There was a bench with a couple there, but he preferred the ground, after all, the bench faced the pathway and he wanted to be away from people.

He was petting Toothless and playing with him. Eventually, he noticed the couple leaving, he wondered if he should go there to save it for when Gobber showed up. People passed by and he tried his best not to mind them at all. That was until he heard two loud known voices.

"Dibs on the empty bench at the tree!"

Hiccup gulped, knowing it was the bench on the same tree, for there weren't many around. The two incomers had skates and they bumped on the bench quite loudly, startling the black Labrador that barked at the two.

"Shh! Toothless!" Hiccup asked automatically, but then the two looked at him.

"Hey, Hiccup!" The girl adjusted her helmet. Hiccup gulped and waved at the twins.

"What a coincidence to see you here in this wonderful Sunday." Tuffnut said. "What are you doing here? Oh, is this your dog?"

"Yes…" He petted him and Toothless calmed down.

"What was his name again? Toothless?" Ruffnut asked and both left the bench and walked with difficulty through the grass over in-line skates. They sat by his side.

"Yes. That's… That's his name…"

"He's so pretty! I mean, sorry about the name…" Tuffnut said that part to the dog. "But you're a beautiful dog!"

"Yeah! Even cuter than in the pictures!" Ruffnut petted the dog. Toothless enjoyed the attention. "Look at those bright eyes!"

"Yes and… wait, what is this?" Tuffnut pointed at what Hiccup new was coming. In fact, it took longer than he expected. He was almost thinking they wouldn't see it. Hiccup took in a deep breath.

"It's a prosthesis."

"But… does that mean that you…"

"Yes…"

"But How?" "Since when?" Both twins asked at the same time.

"It's been a while, but I don't really want to talk about it…"

"Wait, so… That's why you limp?" Ruffnut asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"Dude, you can totally dress up as a pirate for Halloween!" Tuffnut exclaimed in joy. Hiccup raised an eyebrow.

"I don't dress up for Halloween for a few years, now…"

"No? Well, we do. It's still fun." Tuffnut shrugged. "But you can cosplay, then!"

"Not really interested, but thanks…" He sighed. "Look, guys… I… I don't really want people to know about it, yet, okay… It's hard enough as it is for me to deal with it… So, can you please keep quiet about it?"

"Don't worry, my friend! Your secret is safe with us!" Tuffnut put his hands on Hiccup's shoulder.

"Our lips are sealed!" Ruffnut agreed.

"Thanks…"

"By the way, how do you do P.E. with that leg?"

"I don't. I have to do physiotherapy to get used to it and other kinds of exercises, but I do them outside school. Besides, I wouldn't be able to play most things yet, I'm still learning to walk with this thing on; I can't do sports, yet."

The twins gasped.

"We must help you protect your secret! Don't worry, starting tomorrow, I shall cover for you in P.E."

"What are you talking about? No one cares or sees that I don't do that, you know. You two didn't even know until now!"

Tuffnut touched his chin as he wondered; his fingers were like an L. "Fair enough…"

"So, what can we do?" Ruffnut raised her arms.

"Nothing. Really. But if I need something, I'll ask you guys, okay?"

"Okay!" Both answered at the same time and jumped up surprisingly fast for people with skates on. They extended hands to Hiccup, but the boy denied and stood up on his own.

"So… are you guys going to continue skating?"

"In a few minutes…"

"Yeah, we need to take a few minutes to rest…" The twin girl sighed. "Come sit with us!" Both practically dragged him to the bench. "Why don't you tell us more about Toothless in the meantime?"

"What? What about him?"

"How old is he? When did you buy him?"

"He's with me for over a year now, but I'm not sure how old is he."

"What? Why not?"

"I don't know when he was born. We rescued him on the streets, so…" He shrugged. "I can't know these details, but mom said he was around a few months..."

"And how does she know?"

"She was a veterinarian." He mumbled, looking around. Gobber was taking his ice cream and looking at them.

Hiccup looked at him as if he begged to be rescued, but the old man noticed how eager and non-threatening his two companions were —and he knew they were the twin friends Hiccup had mentioned before—, so Gobber just laughed and turned around. Hiccup would have to find a way to get out of this situation himself. He stood up and turned to face the two sitting at the bench. Toothless positioned himself by his owner's side.

"Well, guys, it's been fun and all, but I think I gotta go… my dad is probably coming back and we'll leave soon, so…"

"Hiccup?" A familiar voice asked behind him. "Hiccup Haddock?"

Hiccup span to face his old school friend. Well, he was more of an acquaintance and he was far from happy to see him. He forced a smile as he gulped.

"Hi… Alvin…"

So… what brings you here?" He petted Toothless head, trying to calm himself down.

"Picnic with my family." He pointed at a group of people walking a little further; they had backpacks and a basket. "But I should be the one asking you that… What are you doing here? And… Can you really be walking around the park like that?"

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He knew Alvin wasn't actually saying that to hurt him —or so he hoped—, but how could someone be so overly dense?

"Why couldn't I? I'm an amputee, I'm not dying." His voice came full of sarcasm.

"Yes, but… Are you sure you can walk around like you can have a normal life?" He asked genuinely curious. In his mind, that was how things were.

Hiccup's heart shattered. Of course he knew he could have a normal life, he grew up near Gobber who had double the number of missing limbs and he had a pretty normal life and still worked because he wanted to. And sure Gobber had warned him about nonsense people saying stupid stuff, but hearing that hurt either way.

"Why couldn't he?" Tuffnut demanded as he stood up from the bench faster than a bullet. His sister soon followed him up.

"Yeah, he's capable of just as much as you. Actually, more because he's not so dumb…" Ruffnut crossed her arms.

"What? I'm not the one missing a leg here, in the middle of the park. It's a place where people go for walks…"

"Do you see him crawling? No. He's walking." Ruffnut said.

Tuffnut snorted. "Yeah! Saying something like that is like saying a blind person can't go to the movies. That's just ridiculous."

"Just because a blind person can't see the screen, doesn't mean he or she can't enjoy the sound-surround system, you know."

"Or just enjoy the time with friends." The twin boy nodded.

"Just because a person 'isn't normal'…" Ruffnut made quotes with her fingers. "Doesn't mean he or she can't have a normal life, with a normal job and a normal social life."

Alvin looked at them and shrugged, saying he had to go and following his family quickly. Hiccup sighed as he watched him go.

"Geez, he's so clueless…" Tuffnut rolled his eyes. "Who was he, by the way?"

"Just someone I knew in my old school…" Hiccup answered, turning to face the twins.

"With people like that no wonder why you changed schools…" Ruffnut had her hands on her hips, glaring imaginary daggers at Alvin's back.

"Do you guys really think I'm capable of the same things as he is?" Hiccup asked. That was news for him, usually people looked at him with pity the second they found out about his leg. Either that or think he was a freak.

"Of course. I mean, maybe you're not gonna be able to run… then again I've seen people competing with prosthetics as legs on TV… And people in wheelchairs playing basketball…" Ruffnut thought out loud.

"And sure you've got that skinny little body that seems like it's gonna break, squeaky voice and crooked teeth, but at least you're smart." Tuffnut said.

"Thank you for summing that up…" Hiccup's sarcastic tone came back.

"And anyway you're our friend now."

"Which mean, no one can annoy you but us."

"Exactly." Ruffnut fist-bumped her brother.

Hiccup couldn't help but smile at the two. Indeed, their 'compliments' weren't hurtful at all; they were lighthearted, as friend's jokes were supposed to be. It was a total different feeling than Alvin's questions.

"Thanks guys…"

"HICCUP!" A booming voice sounded far away, the three of them looked at its source and they found Stoick and Gobber waving at him to come towards them."

"And that'd be my dad. I have to go."

"Okay. See you tomorrow at school!" The twins said at the same time. "And don't worry, your secret is safe with us!" With that, they went back to the pathway to continue skating and Hiccup and Toothless walked away.

* * *

**So that's how the twins found out about Hiccups secret! Did you like it? What do you think of the story so far and what do you think is gonna happen next? Please tell me in the comments below, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! :D **


	5. Accidental Prank

**I know it took me a long while to get back to post this story, but I didn't know how to end it... Now, I've found the perfect way to end it, which satisfied me enough and I hope you'll like it as much as I do! **

**Answering reviews: **

**CB73: Yep, he does now, thanks to the nuts! hehehe**

**MvjM: Thanks! I'm glad you think the twins are so in character! they're fun, yet a bit hard to write for... lol**

**Lizzy130300: Thank you! :D**

**AngryHenry: Thanks!**

**CHSHiccstrid: Thank you! I'm glad you liked it so far and I'm really happy you like what I'm doing with the story!**

**Luna Nightrider: And you have no idea how happy it makes to know someone like my stories that much! Thank you! I had fun writing it and I hope you will have too when reading! **

**godspeed83: I left the status as complete because every chap has an ending and they're separated from each other, but soon it will come to a real ending. **

**Dynonutt96: Don't worry, I'm finishing it! **

**sup8pdct: Thanks for reviewing! but why wouldn't it fit the rating? btw, nice ideas, but now I know what will happen! hehehe**

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**Summary: This is a three-part one shot that concludes this series of one-shots. Snotlout is forced to pull a prank on Hiccup by the captain of the team, Dogsbreath, but the consequences of it are worse than he had intended.**

* * *

_Accidental Prank_

"I'm telling you, it was him!" Dogsbreath, the leader of the team, told Snotlout.

"You don't know for sure…"

"I saw him looking at my cheat sheet, he was the first to leave the classroom, and I saw him talking to the teacher. It could only be him! Besides, I know he doesn't like me."

"Well, you do make him trip constantly…" Snotlout rubbed the back of his neck.

"It's his fault for limping all around school. It's so fun and easy to make him kiss the floor…" Dogsbreath smiled proudly at his remembrances, but then his face turned serious. "You're not defending him, are you? You should be backing up your team. Because of that scrawny little snitch, I won't be able to play on our next game." He crossed his arms. "Therefore, he needs to pay."

"What? Come on, you're not serious…" Snotlout tried to laugh. "I mean… Yeah, what he did was bad and all, but you're not gonna hit him, right? He's got some problem already, he limps…"

"No, we're not gonna hit him. If we do, that little snitch will just tell the principal… We're gonna prank him, so he doesn't know who did it…"

"Wait, what? I don't know…" Snotlout found his feet quite interesting to look at.

"And you're gonna help me, isn't that right, Snotlout? After all, you said so yourself that there's nothing more important than your teammates. If someone messes with one of us, he messes with all of us. Unless you don't want to be a part of the team anymore…"

Snotlout gulped.

* * *

Hiccup was walking down the hall, limping as always while he looked at his smartphone. Distracted, the boy didn't notice Snotlout pretending to let a bunch of papers fall scattered around the floor just ahead of Hiccup and near the big wastebasket by the stairs.

Dogsbreath was to make him slip and fall straight to the trashcan like he had seen in movies. When Hiccup was close enough, Dogsbreath kicked his soccer ball to Snotlout, yelling for his partner in crime to catch it as if they were innocently playing around – despite the rules of the school prohibit this kinds of stunts in the middle of the hall.

Of course the captain of the team purposely missed his friend and the ball went straight to Hiccup's feet, startling him and making him lose his balance, but just when he as about to stabilize himself, his foot stepped on one of the papers and as soon as he tried to move, the paper slid. Instead of following forward like Dogsbreath had planned, the boy fell to the side. The movement was so fast inertia sent him rolling once and it was enough to make him reach the edge of the stairs and fall down all the steps to the floor below in a great thud.

The hall kept silent in surprise for a moment until all the students gathered around by the stairs to look at what has happened, just like the people below stopped everything to look at the fallen boy.

Snotlout's jaw dropped and he froze seeing the results of his supposedly harmless prank. He hardly saw Dogsbreath stopping right beside him. He leaned next to Snotlout and with an exhilarating smile, he whispered.

"Wow, that was even better than what I've planned!"

Snotlout widened and turned to him, unable to say anything, so shocked he was. And just like that, Dogsbreath walked away. As soon as he regained his motor functions, he ran after his captain.

"What do you mean? He could have gotten seriously hurt! That was not on the plan!" Snotlout hissed.

"So what?" He shrugged. "It serves him right. Now he'll be too busy to annoy me again."

Snotlout couldn't believe him and when Dogsbreath walked away, he stayed behind, standing alone at the corridors.

Meanwhile, the students gathered more and more around Hiccup, all of them commenting on what had happened, but Fishlegs was the first to walk through the crowd to do something. He hadn't seen who had fallen, so he was surprised to see his friend, moaning in pain and slowly sitting up.

The chubby boy knelt near him. "Oh, Gods! Are you okay? Wait, no, of course you're not… Do you need anything? Where does it hurt?"

"Everything?" He half joked in response. He felt a little dizzy and as he tried to move, the pain in his twisted ankle made itself noticeable in a shocking wave. He grabbed his leg in reflex, letting out a groan.

The twins were upstairs, but they only saw the crowd gathering around; whispers filling the corridors. On the way to see what has happened, they found a familiar phone case on the smartphone on the floor. Tuffnut picked it up before he spot Fishlegs helping Hiccup sit up. Both descended the stairs, nearing just in time to hear Fishlegs's question:

"Do you think you can walk?"

Hiccup had to think for a moment, until he slowly shook his head 'no'. The twins widened and promptly knelt by his side, asking if he had broken something while looking at his left leg. They were about to reach it, but luckily for the boy, before they could do or say anything else, Fishlegs stopped them.

"Guys, I need you to get the wheelchair in the infirmary! Now!"

"We're on it!" Ruffnut yelled as he stood up faster than lightening and ran to the infirmary, Tuffnut handed Hiccup his cellphone before he followed his sister.

As the twins rushed through the corridors, they nearly bumped into Astrid as they turned a corner. The girl raised an eyebrow and yelled at them. "Where's the fire?" She had a smile on her face, thinking they were just joking around as they'd normally do. Their response wasn't comforting at all.

"Hiccup fell down at the stairs." Tuffnut answered turning around while running and pointing at the general direction.

Astrid found Hiccup and Fishlegs minutes later. Annoyed at the staring crowd, her blood boiled in anger, how could they just be there, watching and not doing anything?

"Alright everyone, the show's over! Go mind your own business!"

They slowly started to disperse, for Hiccup's relief.

"Hiccup, are you okay? What happened?"

"I tripped and fell…" He pointed up. "Now my ankle is hurting, I can't really walk… I think I twisted it."

"Which one? We need to see if it's getting swollen, maybe it'd be good to take off your sneakers…" While she was saying, Fishlegs's attention went straight to his right leg. When she got closer, he also stopped her.

"Maybe it'd be better to take him to the infirmary first. The twins went to get the wheelchair. You know, let the nurse take a look on it."

"Okay…"

His concern for people reaching out for Hiccup's feet – or foot – wasn't left unnoticed, especially when Fishlegs suggested he'd hold his legs up while the twins would lift him by the arms to put him on the wheelchair. And surely he'd have felt something different under his jeans on the left side; yet, the chubby boy didn't show any sign of surprise.

The four of them took Hiccup to the infirmary, and when they didn't find the nurse there, the twins were the first to complain and volunteer to look for her.

"Do you want some help to sit on the bed?"

"No, I'll be fine. You two should go to your classes. Really, you already helped me out a lot. And if you find the twins on your way, you should tell them to go to their classes as well; the nurse will be back eventually anyway… And I don't want you to get in trouble because of me."

"But…" She started.

"By the way, Astrid, we have Biology now, right? So can you hand the teacher my homework?" He got a paper from his backpack and gave it to her.

"Okay, I'll go, but please keep me posted…" She left with a concerned expression.

Fishlegs were going after her, but Hiccup called him in a whisper.

"Yes?" He stopped at the door.

"You…" Hiccup gulped. "Did you know?"

"What?" Confused, he raised an eyebrow.

"I mean; you felt something different, didn't you?" His voice was meek, but then he shook his head and his tone came back to normal. "Forget it…"

Fishlegs noticed Hiccup's eyes going automatically to his left leg, just then he understood what he meant. The chubby boy grabbed an elbow, he could have shut his mouth and walk away, but he didn't see a point in lying anymore.

"Yes. I know…" He trailed off. Hiccup's stunned face was nearly frightened.

"Oh…" He sighed. "How long have you known?"

Fishlegs looked down in embarrassment as he told him the day he had brought him to the infirmary and ended up hearing his conversation with a man named Gobber and he understood everything as he watched Hiccup clenching his left leg.

"I'm so, so sorry for eavesdropping… I didn't mean to! It just happened… and then I just couldn't walk away…"

"It's been a while since then…" Hiccup whispered in surprise, his hands moving nervously on his lap. "But you… you didn't treat me differently, I didn't even suspected you knew until now… I mean, you felt my leg is different, right?"

"Yes, of course. The prosthesis is, well, not made of flesh, so yeah, I could feel the metal under the jeans…"

"It's not metal, it's carbon fiber… Anyway, why did you not…"

"I figured if you didn't say anything, you probably didn't want anyone to know, so I kept my mouth shut. I shouldn't have eavesdropped anyway…"

"But you didn't do anything differently."

"Why would I? Well, besides trying to avoid people to look at it, of course."

"I… I don't know, I thought everyone would make a big deal out of it or walk away, or…" His voice trailed off.

"Just because you lost a leg, doesn't mean you're a different person. You're still my friend. I acknowledge that I didn't really know what to do, that was part of the reason I kept my mouth shut, but I hope I won't bother or upset you…"

"You didn't so far." He smiled. "You can keep acting the same… I don't want special treatment; I just want my life to get back to normal, or as normal as it can be. By the way, you shouldn't worry about Ruff and Tuff. They saw it once in the park a few days ago."

"Really? I couldn't tell…"

"Yeah, they were quite crazy about it then, but they manage to act pretty normal here. Well, more or less, they're the twins after all." He let out a small chuckle.

"Indeed." He also laughed. "I should be going now."

"Yes. No problem. Just… don't say anything. Not yet, at least."

"Hey, I kept your secret this far, why do you think I can't keep it up?" Fishlegs said before he left the infirmary, leaving Hiccup alone until the nurse arrived, minutes later.

Hiccup was in pain, his muscles hurt from the fall and his ankle was swollen, he wouldn't be able to step on it for a while. Stoick was called so he could pick his son up earlier and the man took him straight to the hospital to check on him.

* * *

**So now Hiccup knos that FIshlegs knows! lol **

**Can anyone guess who's going to find out next? **

**I don't know if I liked the tittle very much, but nothing better came to mind, if you have any suggestions, please leave it on the comments! Btw, it won't take long to publish the next chaps, I've already written them, but I need to check on them, and of course, reviews can motivate me to publish them even sooner! **

**Oh, and today is my bday, so if you want to make an author happy, you can leave a comment down below as a gift, it'll make my day! :D **


	6. Friendly Collision

**Oh, I forgot to answer your comments on the last chap, so now I answered and updated the chap, so if you want to read my reply, go back and read it at the beginning of the chap. **

**Now answering the reviews:**

**pandamaster: Thanks for your happy-birthday wishes! it was really important to me! I liked your suggestions and although I haven't mentioned much, he does have some sort of support from Gobber and he has tried to take Hiccup to these kinds of group things, but Hiccup didn't want much, he's still taking time for himself first, and he has been doing physiotherapy and all this kind of needed things, which has been helping him a lot, however, the way his old jerky friends acted are still taking a toll on him... Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chap! **

**CB73: Well, it won't be a secret for long... hehehe. And yep, Dogsbreath made a huge mistake and he's going to do even worse... **

**Tarzane: Thank you so much! :D **

**Luna Nightrider: Thanks! I really wanted to finish this collection! and now enjoy the chap! **

**CHSHiccstrid: Yeah, don't blame poor Snotlout, it's not really his fault, hehehe. And thanks so much for saying you miss my writing! It means the world to me! And thanks for the bday wish! :D**

* * *

**Summary: Part two. Days passed and Astrid's worries grow so much she is forced to take on drastic measures to know exactly what's going on with her new friend, Hiccup. **

_Friendly Collision_

During lunchtime the next day, Astrid looked around, searching for Hiccup, but he was nowhere to be found.

"I wonder how Hiccup is…" She sighed; she could hardly eat. Snotlout focused on the food on his plate and gulped, wondering the same, but he just couldn't bring himself to say anything. "Maybe we should go visit him?"

"What? No need for it…" Fishlegs said, waving a hand dismissively. "He said he's fine. He'll have to use an orthopedic boot for a while and he's in a wheelchair, but he said he'll be walking again soon."

"How do you know?"

The chubby boy showed her his cellphone. "He just answered me. I've sent him all his homework so far and everything we studied during the classes we share, but he'll tell me the other classes he needs to know."

"I'd have Biology and English Literature with him today, so I can send him everything he needs to know about these subjects…" Astrid said.

"Okay, just let's not go visit him today. Although I want to, I think he needs to rest…" He said as he answered to another text message. She raised her eyebrow but nodded slowly.

"Hey, maybe we can go visit him during the weekend if he doesn't show up until then!" Tuffnut suggested.

"Yeah… I guess you're right… " Astrid mumbled.

Astrid was going home after classes. Hiccup had messaged her after lunch and reassured her he was fine and to thank her for the homework and pages he'd have to study. She knew he was fine, so there was no reason for her to go all the way to his house to bother him.

* * *

Hiccup was trying to study so he wouldn't fall behind on the days he'd miss school, but he was so sore all over it was hard to concentrate.

The doorbell rang; it could only be Gobber, probably his father had sent his old friend to look after Hiccup. Stoick was stuck at work, leaving the boy alone the entire day. Stoick wasn't really keen on letting Hiccup miss a few days of school, but he knew he was a good student and he didn't want to make it harder on him, Hiccup had been through a lot recently.

Hiccup wheeled away from his desk and went towards the front door as fast as his stiff and sore muscles could take him.

"Hey, Gobber, how are… you…" He said as he opened the door, sure he'd see his godfather at the doorframe, but his voice trailed off as he saw Astrid instead.

"Hi…" She waved as she observed him; he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt, his right leg was on the orthopedic boot and the other one… it just ended in the middle. She widened. "Oh, Gods! Was it that bad that they had to take your foot off?"

Hiccup sort of laughed and raised an eyebrow.

"Astrid, there was no way I'd be at home if I had taken it off yesterday. And there was no way it'd be that healed."

Of course, he was right and she'd have reached the same conclusion, had she given herself a second or two to think.

"Oh… you're right, you'd still be at the hospital…" She face-palmed, but for her, he had two feet up until yesterday. "I'm feeling so stupid, now… I'm sorry…" Then she frowned, as she understood what that meant. He could almost see the gears of her brain clicking, so he sighed, looking down. His voice came out serious.

"Astrid, what are you doing here? I said you didn't need to come…"

She gulped and uncomfortably looked to the sides as if she was caught doing something wrong. "I'm sorry, I just… I was worried about you… Oh, and there's a project for English Literature in pairs that I was thinking about doing with you, seeing that we were so well on the last one we did together…" Her voice vanished in her throat.

He took in a deep breath. "Would you like to come in?"

"May I?"

"Yeah… Too late to hide away now…" He wheeled backwards to let her in and she closed the door behind her.

"Speaking of which… Why, Hiccup?" She followed him to the living room. "Why have you hidden it all along?"

He gestured a place on the sofa for her to sit and she did so, now staying on the same height level as he was.

"Because it's easier…" He shrugged. "I'm still getting used to it and it's just hard to have a thick skin to take people's reaction to this. So it's easier to hide. Most people just look at me with pity, as if I'm incapable to do anything or they look at me as if I'm a freak or they just… vanish. That was what happened at my old school. I wanted a fresh start, that was when I entered Berk High."

"I'm not like that."

He looked at his hands on his lap, he wanted it to be true, but he wasn't sure.

"And… does anyone else knows?"

"Fishlegs found out and the twins found me in the park and they saw it, since I was wearing shorts… So they know, but they've been keeping quiet about it because I asked them too."

"I see…"

"Look, I know it's wrong to hide this kind of stuff, but I… I'm still getting used to all _this_…" He gestured to his legs.

"Hiccup, you don't have to explain yourself, I'm sure you had your reasons… I'm sorry that you went through this, and I'm sorry about your old 'friends'."

"You don't need to be sorry. I'm normal, okay? I just don't have half a leg… Well, actually it's like one third. It's not even the worse loss the accident cost me." His voice faltered.

Astrid was puzzled for a moment until her mind brought her back to when she first came to his house. Her mouth was agape.

"You mean…"

"Yes. A few months ago, my mom wanted to go buy some clothes for herself and for me as well, so she dragged me to the shopping mall. On the way home, it was raining and dark and a drunken guy hit our car… The guy turned out to be all right after that. We weren't so lucky, though…"

Astrid was flabbergasted, to say the least, and just when Hiccup was getting ready to say that it was okay when she'd say she was sorry, he was surprised that instead of saying a word, she jumped forward to embrace him. She knew words would never be able to comfort him and anyway, actions spoke louder than anything she could say.

Once she backed away, she looked at his dazzling green eyes.

"I'm sorry for what you've been through, but I'm here for you if you need, okay?" She smiled sadly and then looked at his legs. "Is your prosthetic broken?"

"No, I'm just not using it at home. No need if I'm in a wheelchair."

"So when are you coming back to school?"

"I only had a few days off, yesterday would be the last, actually. But I'm not going back until it's healed." He shrugged.

"But you can't miss that many classes, it'll take you some more days, maybe weeks until you'll be able to walk again."

"I know, but I can't stand on my prosthesis, it's already hard enough as it is. And I can't risk people seeing it." The hand on his left leg went down to his stump. He barely noticed it; the movement came out of his anxiety, growing by the minute.

Astrid sighed, knowing she wouldn't be able to change the boy's stubborn mind. Therefore, she changed the subject by picking up the English textbook.

"So, may I explain you the project we have to do?"

"Sure."

* * *

Two days have passed since then, Astrid and Fishlegs visited, bringing him homework and helping him studying, leaving at the end of the afternoon, right before Stoick arrived with dinner.

Stoick put the pizza box on the kitchen table and called Hiccup. The boy wheeled there and both sat at the sable, in silence. As the big middle-aged man finished his second slice, he looked at his son still half-way throw his first. Stoick sighed.

"Son… We need to talk. You must go back to school, you can't stay here for so long when the doctor said you can and should go."

It was hard for the boy to swallow the chewed up pizza in his mouth.

"We talked about it."

"Yes, I know it's uncomfortable for you and I'm sorry, but you should try to live a normal life. You don't want them to know about your prosthesis, that's fine, we can cover it in a way it won't show up even when you're sitting and the pants go up, but you need to head back to school. Besides, I don't want you to get behind on your studies."

"I'm not getting behind! I'm studying all day!"

"And you need to move, see friends, get some sun, you know, these things!"

"I don't need that, dad. Just because you were more active than me, doesn't mean I miss it. You know I've never been really active anyway."

"You'll go to school tomorrow. It's decided."

"I don't want to. I can't go back, yet."

"The decision is final."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. "This conversation is feeling very one-sided…"

"_Deal?_"

The boy looked down and softly whispered, "Deal…"

Hiccup left the leftovers of his slice on the place and left to his room without saying another word.

* * *

**So here's another chap! I was gonna update sooner, but I wasn't feeling so good, so it got a bit delayed... Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chap! **

**Please tell me what you think of this chap and Astrid's reaction to the truth! I'd love to know!**

**The next chap will be updated soon as well and it'll be the end of it. Meanwhile, you can read some of my original short stories on Wattpad! ;D **

**BTW, after this story is done, I don't know if I'll be posting more fics for a while, I'm concentrating on original work now, but I might be inspired after Homecoming, who knows? **


	7. Trustworthy

**Now this collection has come to an end. I'm sorry if it took me so long, but I hope you'll all enjoy it! And, of course, if you want to keep in touch or if you have requests, you may PM me or reach me out on instagram, AT author . marilia or AT itban . fuyu ! **

**So now, the answers to your comments: **

**CB73: This is true, you are right! We all know Stoick loves Hiccup, but he's too different from his son and he tries to do his best, but he is often unable to see what Hiccup truly needs and instead, Stoick implies what he needs and acts upon his assumptions because he doesn't know how to tackle the situation, and of course, Stoick is also grieving the loss of his beloved wife and he knew she'd handle the situation and help their son better than him. And yep, Astrid is in the inner circle, but although important, she's not the one to shine in this chap... hehehe **

**Luna Nightrider: Thanks so much! And yeah, I also liked how Astrid reacted, I've tried many things, but that was the reaction I liked the most, even if it was a bit out of character for her... You're right, sometimes we need some time off, but I love writing fics for HTTYD, so I hope you come back in December after I watch Homecoming! :D **

**CHSHiccstrid: Yeah, poor Snotlout... I know it's easy to just blame it all on him and get mad at him, but the truth is that the situation is not black and white and I'm glad you see his point of view. Indeed, I agree that maybe Astrid's reaction was a bit out of character, but the situation was surprising for her and I guess we tend to act differently when that's the case... I hope I'll get inspired by Homecoming, too, and I feel like I will, but I want to wait to see it in December! **

**And now, enjoy the reading!**

* * *

**Summary: Part Three, and final. Hiccup is forced to go to school even if he doesn't feel ready to face his classmates as he's trapped on the wheelchair until his right foot is healed. This shows him he had exactly what he had been looking for. **

**This is the end of this series of one-shots, I quite liked the end results and I hope you will, too! :D **

_Trustworthy_

Stoick didn't like the silence in the car ride, but he didn't push the boy any further than that. When they arrived at school, Stoick parked a little away from the main gate so he wouldn't have eyes on him as he exited the car.

The wheelchair was placed near Hiccup's side and when his father tried to help him out, the boy raised his hands to stop him and briefly whispered "I can do it myself," speaking for the first time that day.

Hiccup put his legs out and used the car structure for support and briefly stood up, his left leg barely had enough balance to hold himself and he nearly collapsed on the wheelchair. He then positioned his feet on the holders.

Stoick handed him his backpack. "Have a good day at school. Call me or Gobber if you need anything."

"Ok." He shrugged and wheeled away.

Looking down, he barely acknowledged Fishlegs coming closer.

"Hey! You're back!" The boy leaned down to hug Hiccup, who froze in surprise. "I thought it'd take longer to see you here again!"

"Yeah, I didn't really have a choice in the matter…"

"Oh…" He replied and backed away.

"Anyway, we're happy to see you again." Astrid walked towards them. "Would you let me push you to class?"

He slowly nodded, so she handed him her books and positioned herself behind his wheelchair to walk down the hall. The twins were on the way and happily greeted them, Snotlout were also there, but he didn't say anything; once his eyes met the boy on the wheelchair, the guilt bottled up inside hit him in such a strong way he almost had the wind knocked out of his lungs.

Silently, Snotlout stepped back, turning a corner on the corridor and walking towards his locker.

"Hey, Snot-man!" Dogsbreath found him at the locker. "Did you see that guy?"

"What?"

"That little snitch!" He huffed, waving his arms up. "I saw him going out of his car this morning. Geez, he's so weak, a sissy in a wheelchair…"

"Well, maybe it's because he _needs_ it?"

"Oh, come on! When I broke my leg last year I walked around with crutches! He's just a sissy with a rich daddy to pay him fancy stuff." He crossed his arms. "Maybe he needs to 'man up'. We should do something about it."

Snotlout immediately understood the meaning behind his words.

"Dude, you can't be serious about it! He's already in a wheelchair…" He looked around and lowered his voice into a hiss "because of _us_!"

"It's just temporary." He waved, dismissively.

"But it could be forever. Hell, he could have died! Just leave him alone, stop with all these schemes and pranks. It's not funny anymore."

"Maybe not to you, but my fun has just begun." Dogsbreath smiled.

* * *

During the entire day, Dogsbreath lurked Hiccup everywhere, searching for the perfect moment to act.

The moment came when Hiccup had to go to the restroom and since he could take a while, he told his friends to go ahead so they wouldn't be caught at the corridors past the time. Dogsbreath waited patiently until Hiccup finally left the restroom wheeling himself down the hall.

The athlete strolled behind him and grabbed the holders behind the chair. "Let me help you," he announced already pushing him forward.

Hiccup snapped his hands off the wheel so he wouldn't hurt himself as Dogsbreath pushed him faster than the pace he was going before.

"What are you doing?"

"Just a good thing for a change." He shrugged, Hiccup couldn't see it, but he could hear the smug smile on his lips. This fact made Hiccup's hairs ruffle.

"Great, but it's unnecessary. I can handle myself."

"Oh, don't be a spoilsport…"

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Shouldn't you, too?"

"I'm sure the teacher will understand if I come late… especially when I tell him someone was taking me the wrong way. You should have turned the last corridor."

"Oh, really? Don't worry, we can just go around."

Yet, he pushed forward. Dead ahead was the same stairs Hiccup had fallen the previous week. His muscles tensed. Dogsbreath tripped in his own feet and pretended to fall ahead, sending the wheelchair forward.

Hiccup's heart skipped a beat and his hand grabbed the breaks and stopped the wheelchair midway. He sighed deeply a few times, getting his senses back together and then looked behind at Dogsbreath.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? How did you stop it that fast?"

"They come with breaks, you moron! I was trained to use it properly!"

"Urgh!" Dogsbreath marched up in front of him, both hands grasped Hiccup's shirt and pulled the boy up. Hiccup couldn't support himself up properly, so he used the athlete for that. "Look here, you fancy wimp, I'm sick of you! You shouldn't have told the teacher I was cheating on that test and I'll guarantee you won't do it anymore!"

"Are you insane? Don't you know the teacher saw you doing that? I didn't have to say anything, he had just seen it and had just annotated it when I handed him my test! It's no my fault you couldn't even cheat properly!"

Dogsbreath growled in anger and let one hand go from his shirt to hit him. Hiccup fell on the floor; hand on his now red cheek. Before the rampage athlete could do anything else, a booming voice sounded through the corridors in a deafening "ENOUGH!"

Both looked at the end of the corridor and they met the principal marching at them. What surprised Hiccup the most was the fact that Snotlout was standing beside the principal, looking down.

"Dogsbreath, my office, now!"

The captain of the team huffed and went after the principal, not forgetting to roughly bump at Snotlout on the way.

Hiccup reached out for his wheelchair, undid the break so he could position it behind him and then locked it in place so he could use the chair as support to elevate himself enough to sit back. His first attempt was a failure since he didn't adjust himself the right way.

Snotlout observed him with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, for crying out loud!" he yelled and came closer to Hiccup, lifting the scrawny boy by the arms and nearly throwing him on the chair. "There! It's not so hard. I'm sure you could just stand up with your good leg…" He crossed his arms, eyeing the wall.

Hiccup adjusted himself on the wheelchair.

"You knew about him?"

"So what?"

"Thanks. I hope you're not in trouble…"

"Oh, I am… I'll be out of the next games and I'll have detention for a week…"

"For telling the principal Dogsbreath was after me?"

"No… For conspiring last week with him. I guess he'll be lucky if he isn't expelled, but we're surely not seeing Dogsbreath for a while…"

"Conspiring… Wait, you mean, last week…?" His voice trailed off as he pointed at the stairs. Snotlout gulped.

"Yeah, it was his idea. I didn't want to and it wasn't supposed for you to fall, but you just wanted to go into it epically!"

"Thank you for putting the blame on me, it's very thoughtful." He chuckled under his sarcastic tone. "And well, what can I say, I don't do things half-way. If I'm doing something, I must dive deep into it. Sometimes literally."

Snotlout tried to, but he ended up smiling and face-palming. "You're impossible…"

"Thank you for summing that up." He shrugged. "But, really, thank you for intervening."

"Yeah, well, it might not look like it but I do have conscience. At least a little. And he had gone a bit too far." He sighed. "Anyway, you could help me out here. I mean, really, couldn't you just not make him mad?"

"What did I do to achieve that besides being mistaken for a snitch?"

Snotlout pointed at Hiccup. "_This_, for starters!"

"You just gestured to all of me." He raised an eyebrow.

"Making him jealous because you got a wheelchair for just twisting your ankle and he didn't get one when he broke his foot. I guess his parents couldn't afford it or whatever… He had to use crutches..."

Hiccup laughed, but there wasn't any joy in it.

"It's not my fault if I already had one before this happened." He pointed at the stairs.

"What? Why the hell did you have a wheelchair? Aren't these things expensive? Why would your parents give it for you to play around?"

"Yes, they're quite expensive and yes, my dad can afford it nicely, but not for me to 'play' with it. I need it."

Snotlout narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

Hiccup sighed, looking at the only member of the gang that had yet to know about his little secret. At last, he made his decision and leaned down, grabbing his pants to slide the left end up just enough to show the metal underneath.

"Oh…" was all Snotlout was able to say.

"Yeah. That's what I needed it. Months ago I've been into a car accident and this happened. I'm still getting used to the prosthesis and all, so at home, I still need the wheelchair and since I can't really balance myself on this leg and I can't use the right one, I came with the chair."

"Oh… " he repeated.

Hiccup hid the metal-leg again. "I didn't really want anyone to know, but the rest of the gang knows, so it wouldn't make that much of a difference if someone else knew."

"Great, I'm always the last to know…"

"Not my fault, they found out." He shrugged.

"Ok, so… I'm going to class now. It's probably half way through anyway."

"Yeah, me too…"

Both went their separate ways without saying anything else.

* * *

The next day, Hiccup felt that throbbing weigh on his shoulders finally gone. The weigh he had been feeling since his old friends started showing their true colors. Since that day, he felt as if he could never be accepted by other people if they knew about it his leg. How could he when the friends he had trusted for so long turned his back on him the moment they knew about the amputation?

Hiccup didn't want everyone to like him, he just wanted to be accepted for who he was for at least a handful of people. And he was finally proved that he had people who supported him and could help him for that and not for a metal leg. Thus, he wasn't afraid anymore.

The friends who had found out about I had kept the secret as he had asked and Fishlegs didn't even let told Hiccup he was aware of the fact for a while, surprising the scrawny boy. The twins were eccentric, but good-hearted, immediately searching for ways to help him out at school. Astrid was thoughtful and supportive, more than he could ever expect anyone to be. And lastly, Snotlout had stood up for him before he even knew about it because he believed it was the right thing to do and not because he was just a 'poor crippled guy'.

In the end, Gobber was right. When Hiccup least expected, he had found the friends he wanted to keep for life. It was such a freeing feeling he could even wear shorts to school if he didn't want to get so much attention and be stopped at every single meter down the hall. He grabbed the jeans instead, knowing he wouldn't be afraid if the end would go up a bit when he sat down. With a smile on his face, he went to school.

* * *

**In my initial idea of this three-part story was that Snotlout (and basically everyone) would see Hiccup's prosthesis and then he'd feel guilty enough to tell the principal everything, but I decided to turn it around. It felt way deeper and it'd show Snotlout's character better if he decided to go against his team captain and tell everything to the principal because he knew what Dogsbreath was doing was wrong. **

**And after this change, I still needed Snotlout to know about it (after all, he was the last one), and I think that having Hiccup telling him was better in order to show Hiccup's development and because it would be fair to Snotlout. Snotlout was the first person in the new school that Hiccup was able to actively tell his little secret, and although he was the last one to know in the gang, he was the first step Hiccup took in order to feel more assured about himself. **

**It's important to note that with this fic, I'm not saying that everyone who's been through what Hiccup had been through would react the same, and I'm definitely not saying he couldn't feel okay in his body if he didn't have the external acceptance of his friends. Hiccup, in this fic, was still getting used to his new condition and the fact that his mother died in the accident made things even worse. The fact that his old friends abandoned him also took its tool on him. And of course, it's not "just have friends" and everything will be alright, but the fact of having trustworthy friends opened his eyes to see the new condition he was in with a more positive view and this would help him accept everything more also served to show Hiccup that not everyone is like his old jerky friends, and that was also important for him.  
**

**No one should wait for external approval to feel worthy, but everyone should be more understanding and support their friends in every way they can and I hope I showed it in this fic. **

**I liked writing this series of one-shots and although it took me a long while to finish it, I hope you all had liked it as much as I did. And who knows, maybe I could make some sort of sequel a few years later with Heather and Dagur... I guess that'd be nice, what do you think?  
**

**Please leave me a review on your way out! It'll make my day! :D **

**And Happy Halloween for those who celebrate it! **


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